Summer Treats on Overload

School’s not even out yet (where we live, at least) and already this week we’ve been treated to ice cream, frozen yogurt, milkshakes, and lemonade. In other words, now that it’s summertime, everyone starts piling on the cold sweet stuff.

We must be stuck in another era entirely because when we think about the yummiest foods of summer, we think of cherries, tomatoes, blueberries, corn, and peaches. But somewhere along the line summer treats became a lot more complicated (and caloric). Take, for example, WebMD’s “9 Worst Summer Snacks for Kids,” which is a compilation of foods you’ll typically find at carnivals, state fairs, boardwalks, and road stops. First up on the list is Baskin Robbins’ Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Sundae, which clocks in at a whopping 1,250 calories, 81 grams fat, and 91 grams sugar. Last in line is that old standby, lemonade, which comes in at 198 calories and 51 grams of sugar for a 16-ounce serving. You could eat 11 Oreo cookies (4.6 grams of sugar apiece) and still consume less sugar than if you drank the whole lemonade.

Gulp.

We’re not trying to be Cranky McCrankypants. And in fact, we’re going to come back tomorrow with a strong defense of ice cream. But really – peanut butter cup sundaes? At what point did we collectively decide that food is best when taken to extremes? What happened to a single scoop of ice cream in a cone? When we were kids, that seemed like a pretty decent treat to us.

This summer, we’re going to be all about the blender and the freezer. Fresh fruit goes in… smoothies, slushies, sorbets, and popsicles come out. We don’t need to add tons of sugar, and we sure don’t need to add peanut butter cups to make it taste good. And the funny thing is, we don’t think we’ll be the least popular house on the block either. If it’s cold, sweet, and delicious, we’re sure to have plenty of takers.